Want to develop an even technique on saxophone and learn how to get those difficult lines up to speed? Well, join the club.
We all want to get faster fingers on sax. No matter how long we’ve been playing the saxophone, we all struggle with passages that we just can’t execute cleanly. There are times when we feel like we’ve hit the wall and we just can’t play that line any faster.
Faster fingers on sax
We get frustrated. Maybe we feel like we just want to give up and throw the saxophone out the window. Of course, this has never happened to me.
In this lesson we’re going to explore how to build a clean saxophone technique right from the start. You’ll learn a method to tame those tricky lines so you won’t have to toss your saxophone out the window again. Because – well – saxophones ain’t cheap.
Accuracy
No matter what style of music you want to play, the goal is always accuracy. You want each note to be placed exactly where you hear it in your head. That means controlling your fingers, whether you’re playing fast or slow.
Ready? Let’s dig in.
How muscle memory helps
First, let’s talk about the basics of developing good, clean technique right from the start. The main element of developing a clean technique is understanding muscle memory. Contrary to its name, muscle memory isn’t stored in the muscles themselves. It’s a form of motor learning that takes place primarily in the brain.
It’s more accurately described as creating automatic neural pathways. But, we non-nerds are going to stick with muscle memory.
Here’s how it works. When you first attempt a new movement, like riding a bike or hitting a golf club, it requires a lot of conscious effort and attention. Your brain is figuring out how to coordinate sensory information, plan the movement, and send signals to your muscles.
As you practice, the specific pathways in your brain that are responsible for that movement become stronger and more efficient. This makes the movement smoother and over time requires less effort.
With continued practice, the movement becomes more automated. Your brain becomes so efficient at sending the necessary signals to your muscles that you no longer need to think consciously about each step.
This is what feels like muscle memory. And while the muscles themselves don’t directly store memories, they do adapt to training. And with repeated use, they can grow stronger and more efficient. Which means you get better the more you practice.
Muscle Memory Every Day
Think about some of the ways muscle memory helps us achieve everyday tasks.
You probably haven’t thought about how to tie your shoes in years, but you can effortlessly do it thanks to ingrained motor skill memory. This seemingly simple task involves a complex sequence of coordinated movements, that you execute almost automatically. When was the last time you had to practice brushing your teeth or tying your shoes?
And of course, athletes rely heavily on muscle memory for complex skills like throwing a ball or hitting a golf shot. What does all of this have to do with saxophone technique and getting faster fingers on sax? That’s an excellent question. I’m glad I asked.
Practice makes permanent
Repetitive practice burns in those fingering patterns. This frees your mind to focus on musicality and expression instead of consciously thinking about each note.
This gets us smoother movement between notes. And that gets us faster fingers on saxophone. Muscle memory is a powerful tool for saxophonists, but requires mindful, concentrated practice to ingrain those fingerings.
When we’re working on getting something under our fingers, there are three keywords to remember for faster fingers on sax.
- Slow
- Straight
- Slurred.
Practice slow
You must practice slowly with attention to detail. If you practice sloppily, you’ll learn to play sloppily. Don’t practice anything at a tempo that’s too fast to play without mistakes.
Nigel from Sax School did a great interview with my friend and teacher Lou Marini who told a great anecdote that explains how even the masters have to practice slowly. Here’s what he said.
Lou Marini’s practice advice
“Through a friend of mine, I did a tour with the Barbra Streisand Orchestra, a couple of tours with her, playing in her orchestra. And one of the saxophone players, who was the oboe double, told me a story that a flute player friend of his told him, about studying with Julius Baker. A great flutist for many years with the New York Philharmonic. A lot of people think he’s the greatest flute player ever.
“She said, ‘Maestro, you… never seem to make a mistake. What’s the deal with that?’ You know? And he says, ‘well, that’s because I never make a mistake’. He went on to explain that his practice process, when he learned something new was to play it so slowly that he was not going to make a mistake.
“And then to increase the speed that he practised with so slowly that still, he was not going to make a mistake. Until when he got it up to tempo, he had never made a mistake the whole time. So, that’s a very severe discipline.”
As Lou says, that’s a very severe discipline, but it’s why Julius Baker is one of the best flautists in the world.
Of course, not everyone has the discipline or the hours to practice everything in that way. But I’m sure you can imagine how, when you start out working on something new, you can benefit from this approach. And it’s a great principle to always keep in mind if you want faster fingers on saxophone. In the words of the great saxophonist James Moody, “A wise man practices slowly. A wiser man practices even slower.”
Practice Straight
By straight we mean evenly. Use a metronome and think of the notes as if they’re on a grid. We want each note to have the same length.
If the tempo is slow, and it should be when starting, set the metronome to play subdivisions – 8th notes or 16th notes. Focus on locking into those clicks.
After some time, you’ll start to hear those subdivisions in your head, and you won’t need the metronome to play them for you. You’ll be able to have the metronome play larger divisions of the measure.
Silent practice
You can also practice the passage silently and listen for the sound of the keys going down. The goal is to hear just one click per note. Each click of the keys should be right in sync with the click of the metronome, and this is much easier to focus on when you aren’t playing. This method is also a great way to work on getting faster fingers on sax, without disturbing the neighbours.
Good hand position habits
Be mindful of using the correct finger position right from the start. Your hands should be relaxed and slightly curved. Starting with the proper hand position and posture is going to be much easier than trying to change your bad habits down the road. A good hand position is essential for faster fingers on sax.
Practice slurred
To focus on achieving an even technique from note to note, it’s best to keep your tongue out of the equation when you’re first getting a passage under your fingers. Practising slurred will allow you to make sure that the distance between each note is even. When you start notes with your tongue, it can obscure whether the placement of each note is spot on.
You want the pressing of your fingers on the keys to be what is starting each note. Once you have the fingering comfortable, even, and accurate, then you can add articulation to the mix.
Fingers close to the keys
You don’t want to plop your fingers down for each note. Keep your touch light using just enough pressure to close the keys. Check out any saxophonist with blazing technique and you’ll see that their fingers are not bouncing off the keys.
You want your fingers as close to the pearls as possible for faster fingers on saxophone. And how do you learn this, or relearn it if you’ve been doing it wrong? Slow practice to ingrain the habit into your muscle memory. So remember those three S’s. Slow. Straight. Slurred.
More help inside Sax School
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Break it down with these exercises
Now let’s talk about another method for faster fingers on saxophone, to help clean up those tricky lines.
The most effective way to master difficult technical passages is to break them down into smaller components. Our brains process smaller bits of information faster than big chunks. This method works well if you’re working on a passage and you feel like you’ve reached a point where you just can’t increase the tempo any further.
I learned this method years ago when I was studying with Lou Marini. And since then, I’ve seen variations of this method used by musicians of all styles and instruments.
Everyone swears by it, and once you learn it, you’ll be a convert too. Let’s do it.
Break tempo
Let’s use a very simple example. Say, I’m practising a scale in 16th notes (semiquavers), gradually increasing the tempo until I reach a point where I can’t increase the tempo any further. We’ll call that our break tempo.
For this demo, my break tempo is 16th notes at a quarter note (crotchet) equals 120.
When you reach your break tempo, cut the tempo in half. So a quarter note now equals 60.
Now start by playing the line at even eighth notes. Keep your fingers on the keys and keep your hands relaxed. Practising slower like this makes it easier to be aware of your finger position and any unnecessary tension.
Adding some variations
Now, still keeping these elements in mind, we’re going to add some rhythmic variations. Practice the line as dotted eighths and sixteenths.
Playing a line like this allows us to hear two notes as one movement. This allows us to isolate each transition and listen to each group of two for any fingering flubs.
If you hit a trouble spot, isolate that group and focus on it until it feels comfortable. It’s very important to make sure you’re keeping the rhythm even, not swinging. You can do this by subdividing each beat into four 16th notes, thinking “one ee and a, two ee and a”.
Once you’ve practised the line using the first variation, we move on to the next variation. 16ths and dotted eighths.
Repetition is key
This rhythm is one we’re not quite as used to and can feel a bit awkward. But that’s what makes it so effective. This one helps to gain fluidity in your fingers and work on that muscle memory.
Again, remember to pay attention to those 16th-note subdivisions.
Remember that the key to achieving muscle memory is repetition. So you want to repeat each of these rhythms until they start to feel comfortable in your fingers. Then gradually increase the tempo until eventually you can play the line as 16th notes at a tempo beyond the original tempo.
Dig deeper
Well, hopefully, these tips will help you clean up your finger technique and achieve faster fingers on saxophone. If you’d like to dig deeper into this subject, as well as thousands of other lessons, you can click on the link below to check out the 14-day free trial of Sax School Online.